Sunday, November 15, 2015

I am proud to present a cover reveal (though if you are on the ball, you may have seen it yesterday :P) for Sheri Velarde's Not So Silent Night.

It's a gorgeous story that she's upgraded from hot and good to sizzling and great! New edits, new cover, and voila! A tale to warm you at Christmas and beyond! She's done all this fighting major health issues and doing Nano! I'm impressed at how good of a job she has done! Be ready! Time to start your Christmas buying is at hand!

Without further ado, I give you her delicious cover done by the ever wonderful cover artist, Victoria Miller, as well as a few words from Sheri herself. Watch her blog (and likely here lol) for buy links!

Not So Silent Night is a very special story to me for numerous reasons. It was one of my most successful releases with Breathless Press and one of my favorite to write. Now it is about to become my first self-published book as I ready it for re-release this holiday season under my real name! It has been re-edited with some new bits added to make the story even better, but still retains the steaminess from before!

The world of self-publishing is a little scary for me, but exciting at the same time! As I have had two small publishers close on me this year, I just feel that this gives me a safety net to my career and allows me more freedom as well. The world of publishing is forever changing, and I am learning to go with the flow in order to keep up! I can’t think of a better way to embark on my new adventure than with Not So Silent Night, which will be out November 25th, and with the beautiful cover from artist Victoria Miller!

Another lonely Christmas approaches for Anna and her life of
penance—until an otherworldly distraction appears and changes her life.

Anna is a lonely woman, running her dead grandmother's
flower shop. She hates Christmas and could not feel more lost when a handsome
and mysterious Russian, Alexander, walks into her shop and her life. Each has
secrets that they are harboring. Just as their passion erupts, the good old
boys in town threaten to ruin everything. Getting to know each other is tough
for most couples, adding in magic does not make it any easier. Now with a pack
of werewolves out to destroy them, things become intense. They find themselves
in a fight for their lives. Can their newfound love give them the strength to
win against this threat and trust in the future?

Bio:

Sheri Velarde, lives in New Mexico with her husband and
their two dogs.

Being an avid reader since an early age, she has wanted to
be a writer for as long as she can remember. She has been writing all her life,
but only recently started to actually try to pursue her dream of writing for a
living. She specializes in all things paranormal and that go bump in the night.
Her heart truly lies in exploring unknown worlds or adding the supernatural to
our world. If it goes bump in the night or has magical connotations, Sheri
writes about it.

She is constantly putting out new material with various
publishers, so it is best to keep up with her on her website www.sherivelarde.weebly.com.

In her spare time Sheri is an artist, jewelry designer,
independent comic writer/artist and freelance non-fiction writer. Hiking in the
mountains, going to live concerts, art openings, museums, and hosting intimate
dinner parties.

Monday, September 28, 2015

A fellow author of mine at Three Worlds Press is having a release in March. Today is cover reveal day :D Please give her a warm welcome! And perhaps go snag books 2 and 3 while you're waiting!

Welcome, Allison Merritt and kudos on your cover!

Tell (The Heckmasters, Book 3)

Author: Allison Merritt

ISBN13: 9781619233010

Length: 70k

Release date: March 8, 2016

Half demon, all male...one woman strong enough to love
him.

Knowing the day will come when his demon blood will overcome
his humanity, Tell Heckmaster has been searching for a miracle. Something,
"anything," to counteract the spell. So far, he's come up empty.

Just as the town of Berner has finally found peace, Tell's
worst fears manifest. Strange, new powers are tearing at his finely honed
control. Putting everyone-including the pretty seamstress he's kept at arm's
length-in terrible danger.

Sylvie Duke has everything she needs. Everything except
Tell, who doesn't seem to own a lick of sense. His resistance only strengthens
her resolve to stay by his side, driven by a nameless inner knowing that
without her, all will be lost.

Reluctantly, Tell is forced to admit that the closer he is
to Sylvie, the better he's able to quell his demon. But when a cryptic warning
from an old ally tips the balance, nothing-not even love-may be strong enough
to protect Berner from the raging fires of hell.

Warning: Contains a woman
who can handle a hatchet with as much skill as a needle, and a man whose touch
can transport her to heaven. Or hell. Accidentally, of course. Readers may wish
to invest in an asbestos suit. Potholders just aren't going to cut it.

Add it on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26715881-tell

About the Author:

A love of reading inspired Allison
Merritt to pursue her dream of becoming an author who writes historical,
paranormal, contemporary, and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres.
She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and dogs.
It's not unusual to find her lurking in graveyards, wandering historical sites,
or listening to ghost stories.

Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout,
Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that's gathering dust after it was
determined that she's better at writing fluff than hard news.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

I took a bit of time off as I caught up from my identity
theft loss of time, but it’s time to put blogging back on the menu. Lol

We’ve been doing Your Book. Your Business. and it’s time to
continue with that. It is your book. But, whether self published or with a
publisher, you hopefully have an editor. Now, an editor is a sort of magical
being in that they see things that we’re invisible to us no matter how many
times we’ve been through it! However, Here are some quick things about editors
at small publishing houses:

They usually do not have last say except in terms of house
rules and grammar.

There are many types of editors. Content editors are there
to strengthen the pacing, the words, and point out any obvious oops, like
having your Italian friend all of sudden be from France sort of thing. Line
editors are there to find the grammar and punctuation and help make your MS
clean. Even though many content editors have a strong grasp of grammar and punctuation,
you still want this line edit to happen. Copy editors are more in formatting
and accuracy of text, not necessarily fact checking for fiction books, but in
newspapers, they can and do. They are sort of a line editor of sorts.

They can help brainstorm, give you ideas, etc.

They can be your best friends.

They can help you keep your confidence.

They are not squeamish about marking up your manuscript—even
if it’s worrisome to them how the author will take it.

They want you to succeed.

They make suggestions.

They’re usually quirky and believe absolutely in work they
acquire in houses that allow them to acquire.

What they are not:

Your personal punching bags.

Your personal library.

Your research assistant.

Your mom.

Your babysitter.

Your janitor.

Your boss.

Perfect.

The last word on your manuscript. You are. Though in some
big houses the editor may have more editorial control, in most small houses,
they suggest.

Even if you personally pay for your editor, you do not want
to treat them bad. You don’t want to burn that bridge or bad mouth them. Trust
me, they’ll hear about it. Also, any editor who hears you totally bad mouthing
another editor, will be leery of taking you on if they have any sense at all.
Unless that editor took your money and never edited, I’d suggest discretion is
valor.

If you aren’t meshing with your editor, hey, no shame on
both parts. As head editor, I try to match up personalities as well as books,
but you can’t always do that. It’s best to leave it at personalities don’t
mesh, or that your weaknesses weren’t her strengths, etc. rather than bad
mouthing.

Word gets around, and then you don’t have access to as many
editors. The quality available to you will go down.

If your editor says, “Hey, look up the rules for this.” for
whatever reason, don’t ignore, don’t half ass it. You may think your editor is
overreacting, but I can tell you from personal experience, that though there
are sometimes they just don’t know, most of the time, they are right. Or at
least, they are right to have you double checking your facts. If they say, the
reader needs more/less of something, look into WHY the editor thinks this. As
an author, there’s a knee jerk reaction to say, “Not my baby!” and be
mutinously stubborn in changes. Let that feeling pass and move on.

If you don’t, you will have readers who say you’re full of
it, that you don’t know squat. Like having ice caves in the wrong city/town/state,
or not having the BIA in charge of serious things on the reservation instead of
state police, or having a native tribe of Arizona be from Washington.
Seriously, if your editor says, research this, double check that fact, do it.
Period. Even if you’re right, and say you prove yourself right, what did it
really hurt? In fact, it could inspire a blog post.

I’m an editor and an author. I’ve had it happen to me both
ways…having an editor mark something I didn’t know how to change so didn’t, and
having an editor mark something wrong that I knew was right as it pertained to
the reservation and the laws involved that the editor had no clue about. Trust
me, do your due diligence. Make sure of your facts before bucking your editor.
It’s just safer that way.

The thing is, though it is your book, the editor is a reader
too. If they’re confused/hung up on something, there’s a good chance your
readers will be too. If they’re saying feels a bit slow, then pick up the pace.

Whatever you do, do NOT be a jerk, publically or in emails,
to your editor. Do not call them names, rant about what they’re doing, etc.
Seriously, you can dislike an edit, and even disagree with things, but do not
become unprofessional.

Which brings up, you don’t have to agree with your editor.
You can disagree. Just explain why. Don’t ignore them, try to hide their
changes, reject without reason. Explain. That will give the editor a chance to
explain as well. Dialogue is so important in this stage. You have to trust your
editor, but your editor has to trust you. If she can’t trust you to follow
directions and communicate, you will get the minimal edits, at least, more
likely, but you may not get an acceptance for the next book. The feeling being,
why edit what will be ignored? Why deal with someone who bad mouths? Who won’t
work with me? Why waste my time?

Editing and publishing is a very subjective business. Especially
if your editor is the acquiring editor, don’t make them your enemy. Don’t make
them not want to work with you.

If you do have issues, say, it’s been six months in line editing,
be professional and respectful in your inquiries. They may be in the wrong, but
perhaps it’s a human failing, or perhaps, it was a change. Either way, being
respectful will keep you from being blackballed or other bad things happening.

Editors are there to help you shine. Listen to them,
communicate with them, work with them, and you’ll have the best story possible.

Monday, June 8, 2015

I have a good friend and author, Franny Armstrong here today!! I'm so excited. She's really just a writing monster! I love it! She's prolific and loves her twists and turns.

Here's her guest post and cover :D Have fun!

Would you make love to a computer?

People today meet partners online,
some of them going so far as to find their true loves, but there can also be
danger when that happens. Imagine you have an online lover who lives many miles
away. Now, he talks you into cheating on your husband. Is it your fault or his
when you give in. The internet isn't always a safe bet. Sometimes even putting
an ad on a website to sell your spare bicycle can lead to more than you'd
hoped.

While writing The Web Cleanser, I
thought about the consequences of online relationships, and fell into the
vortex of a story where love can be deadly. You're cyber lover might not live
as far away as he/she says. Stalkers can find their victims on the web easily,
getting more information about you than you know. It's better for you to only
put the minimal personal information in your profile. Danger abounds in the
world you can't see.

My characters find out the true
meaning of deceit when a killer lures them to their deaths. It's up to two
tough cops to find him. Ryland Sanders chooses to be the bait, while her
partner, Kane Nanuq tries to protect her from herself, and the killer. Imagine
yourself in a similar situation, and perhaps caution will help keep you safe.

I'd love to know what you think of
the cover and the tale. You can reach me below at any one of my links. Thanks.

Blurb

Ryland Sanders is a feisty,
no-nonsense cop who protects her heart with her smart mouth. She has no
friends, and every partner she's ever had gave up on her long ago. When paired
with a new cop, Ry pulls out all stops to get rid of him, but he's not one to
run.

Kane Nanuq is from the Northwest
Territories on Baffin Island. He's tracking a serial killer who murdered his
wife and children. When he meets Ry, his carefully planned revenge is altered.
She wants to become bait, but Kane wants to protect her. She cracks open his
carefully guarded heart, even as she loses hers.

The duo work together to capture the
killer, but neither of them realize they've lost their hearts to each other
until it's too late...

Excerpt

Normally,
Ry wouldn't give a care in the world about people talking behind her back, but
for some reason the gossip cut her deeply. Glancing at herself in the mirror,
she saw a bewildered, angry woman, who had no friends, no family, and no one to
talk to. For the first time since her teens, tears pricked her eyes. Shocked,
she watched in the mirror as they glistened for a moment. Anger finally took
over as it usually did when she became vulnerable. Lifting her chin, and
throwing her shoulders back, she swiped at the offending tears, finally able to
achieve the control she'd been missing all morning.

Nobody—and
she meant nobody—could hurt her! Not ever! She gave her reflection a quick nod,
squared her shoulders even more, and opened the door with a bang, making her
way back to her office at normal speed. This time though, she took a moment to
give the cops in the main room her best 'Go ahead, I dare ya', expression. Not
a soul would raise their eyes to meet hers. With a sniff of distain, she opened
her office door and entered her haven…at least, it had been a haven until her
current resident showed up.

Ignoring
Kane, she sat back down, and noticed that her computer ran smoothly. About to
snarl at him, she found that he'd set a hot cup of coffee down in front of her.
Now how could you get mad at a guy, when he'd given you the only saving grace
of the whole morning? Deciding it best to keep her mouth shut, she opened up a
few files, doing her best to ignore the aromatic brew. It took all of a minute
before she gave in, and grabbed the cup. When it sloshed on her pants, she
squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for the pain to go away.

Kane
took the cup out of her hand, and used his clean hanky to dab at the large
stain on her thigh.

Releasing
a loud 'whoop', she nearly came out of her chair at his touch, but for his hand
on her shoulder holding her down.

"Sit
still," he said in a low murmur, continuing his ministrations.

In
a million years, she wouldn't ever admit to him or anyone else, let alone
herself, that his touch made her belly flutter with a swarm of butterflies.
Keeping her eyes on her computer screen, she did her best to appear unaffected.

For
a few seconds, he tapped the keys on her keyboard. "There," he said
quietly, then returned to his desk.

Angry
that she'd found an interest in him, she snapped, "I'm not going to thank
you…for anything."

Author of Romantic Suspense and
Paranormal Romance, I love a good tale. A full time author, I have plenty of
time to work on my projects. I write, promote, and daydream about my stories
all day long, fitting in my chores and family in my 'spare' time. Writing has
been a healing experience for me. Having Bipolar II disorder, I go through
hoops to remain focused, but I love to write and it takes me away from dealing
with illness. I've come a long way into good health because of my stories.
After all, my characters can do anything! There's no reason I can't.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Three Worlds Press has started a fun series of shorts which is planned to be compiled into anthologies as we go :) They all have to do with the Sea and a little light horror, and the one to launch this week is gothic horror! I have the author guest blogging as well as his buy links and a little som'in som'in from his book!

Would
you want to live in the world you’ve created and why/why not?

My world (in the book) is our world. The only difference is
much of the magic we see in movies or phony "documentaries" is real
in the world of the book, though much more subtle than in traditional fantasy.
I'd love to live in a magical world. My universe--to which the book provides
only a glimpse through a window--has magic, monsters, gods and demons, and many
typical fantasy elements, but is otherwise our normal, workaday world. What
makes it interesting, I hope, is that nothing is overt. The magical underbelly
of reality exists largely unnoticed by most people.

Did
you have a favourite book or author as a child? Have you got one now?

I loved a book series called The Three Investigators. I
recall them having business cards and thinking that was so cool--there was some
kind of power in that. They--much like Scooby Doo--always found a rational
explanation for seemingly supernatural phenomena. That is attractive to me in a
way. But then I have always been inspired by Poe and Lovecraft (my daughter is
Raven and once son is H.P.). In the past decade, I've noticed a theme of Neil
Gaiman running through my life--movies, books, and other forms of media had
links to Gaiman. Long before I knew who he was (or recognized the value of
following authors rater than stories) I was reading comics he wrote (one,
Death: The High Cost of Living, is still a favorite). I figured he was one of
these ubiquitous writers--a Stephen King who everyone has experienced
somehow--but no. Gaiman appeals to a certain community, and those people
gravitate toward his projects not necessarily because of him (generally), but
because of their temperaments and the style and quality of his projects. I also
enjoy the early writing of Orson Scott Card, and who doesn't love Bradbury,
Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Dick, Blish, etc.

What
do you find hardest to write?

My mind always wants to explore my universe, so constraining
stories to the relevant characters and plot lines is a constant battle. I
sometimes satiate myself by dropping in Easter Eggs that only I recognize as
such (as my body of work grows, maybe they'll be more recognizable). But when
you've got a world in your mind filled with interesting characters, it's hard
to keep them from popping up at every opportunity. I remind myself to keep a
steady pace--over time I will begin to explore more of the people/beings.

Do you
have any other books in the works?

I have a few in process, most set in this same world. I
enjoy world-building, so expect to see at least some of the characters from Sea
Foam again.

Author Bio:

D.J. Kozlowski writes gothic horror, dark fantasy, and magical realism, drawing inspiration from the likes of Poe and Lovecraft. When he’s not writing, D.J. counsels businesses as an attorney. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, 3 kids, and fish, the latter of which is constantly being replaced for the sake of the children. He tries not to take life too seriously.

Blurb:

Minor magic can have unintended consequences.At the beach across from the Sea Foam Apartments, the fates of five people are tragically altered through Melinda’s well-intentioned meddling.Now, Melinda has a chance to help these people find their destinies and restore life to the beach, but she’ll need some help.Fortunately, someone has been watching.

Quotes:

“She recalled the sun rising from behind the sea, darkening then illuminating the lighthouse and brightening the sands whose sparkle mixed with the shimmering waves to cast all the early joggers in a discotheque strobe. This place had magic to it.”

“The rustling of the curtains was enough to rouse Marc from a dead sleep. When he was younger and living in that apartment at the end of Seaside Avenue, the curtains rustled. At first, he thought he’d left the balcony door ajar, allowing a sea breeze into the apartment. Only later did he realize the curtains moved regardless of the door or the breeze.”

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

When I first thought about becoming
and “author” and putting my work out there for others to read, I never thought
that I would become published. Then I never thought that I would have a series!
How cool is that? I have a book series! It still boggles my mind even though
Book 3 of my Gods Behaving Badly series, Between Love and War, is about to come
out next month. Truthfully I stumbled into a series. The first book, Looted,
was meant to be a short that just kept growing and ended in a way that demanded
another story. I guess I should also mention that Looted was rejected before it
found its home at Secret Cravings Publishing. Just goes to show that you should
never give up. So Stealing Hearts came to be and I introduced a few more gods
of old, gods who were just demanding to have their adventures told. Sometimes
characters just take on a mind of their own and will not leave you any peace
until you listen to them and write about them. The one that screamed at me the
loudest was Ares, the god of war just would not be put off. So Book 3 is the
story of the true love between Ares and Mania, because of course the goddess of
madness is the one true love of Ares. Only makes sense right? Truly, character
and books do take on a life of their own and often I am just along for the
ride!

Between Love and War was just
accepted last week and is being fast tracked for a June release! I will have a
release date soon, but right now I am so happy to be able to share the
beautiful cover with you all! First round edits are done and we are full steam
ahead! I am so excited!

Blurb:

After the Fall, Ares spent a
thousand years searching for his lost love Mania. Thinking he had lost her
forever, he settled into the life of a mercenary here on earth. Then the fates,
and his sister the goddess of love, showed him Mania was alive and well. He
travels to London hoping to regain what he had thought lost forever.

Mania had spent a millennia as a
wraith of madness before slowly starting to rebuild herself into a new and
independent woman. Art had been her outlet and her savior. Then one night her
world is turned upside down when her old love walks back into her life. Can she
love him again and still remain the woman that she had become?

Unbeknownst to both of them a
mysterious organization is lurking in the background and threatening to unravel
the lives of all the gods on earth.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

*Waves* We are forgoing this weeks Your book. Your Business. posts to bring you news of the exciting sort! My book!!! With beautiful new edits, some words cut, over 1k new words added, a glossary of peeps --including a sneak peek at characters not out yet!--and locations and specialty words as well! So much new stuff. In the first book, I also re-edited and added significant number of words as I also cut some. I rewrote a scene and added a short scene. So you want to get books one and two new versions! And book three is hopefully not too far behind! In the meantime, there will be shorts released!

Right now, I have over 15 full length novels and about 6 chronicles (these are main characters/story bits already moving, some partly written...I have two shorts written, one half written, and others clamoring, half a full length and notes on another full length...from writing in my *spare* time.

I'm so excited to have these back out. Some health issues, partly caused by extreme stress both in my personal life and my professional life, put these on hold. But I'm having new ideas all the time. These books will traverse the world over! Next, in The Panther's Hunter, I stay in my home state of Washington, but move off the reservation to a transplanted werepanther to Mt. Rainier. Transplanted from New Orleans, where I am planning to go for book four if Sherona and Tom's story will wait. They were planned for book 6, but Sherona is a character to be reckoned with and Tom is her perfect counter point and can quite hold his own against her shenanigans. I just hope I can get the others written fast enough for them!

Barnes and Noble can be found here, All Romance ebooks (ARe) can be found here, and Amazon here. It is also on Kobo, Google Play, and iTunes or books, or whatever it is LOL I always get them mixed up. Enjoy this continuing saga where each story has the world woven through with continuing stories, but stands on it's own as a novel. You will find yourself both satisfied with the main story and wanting more for the world! :D

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Due to recent events, I’ve changed this week’s post to be
about pirating.

An aspect of the writing business which I loath is pirating.
The sites never really come down. You feel torn up, violated, abused, and half
the time, no one is listening anyway. “It’s a victimless crime. Why do you
care. Who am I hurting? It’s not like the writers work or anything. The writer
should just be glad I want to read their awful work. Books should be free.”

I have heard all of this and more, but we can’t give up the
fight. It’s not just for writers either. It’s all art. Writing, painting,
music, and fashion designs… All of it is sparked on creativity. Oh man, I
remember when Metallica took on napster. Everyone was soo upset. “You’re just
greedy. Music should be free. Everyone should have the right…” yada yada.

Well, guess what? If Metallica hadn’t done it, then the
little guy would have been put out of business long time ago. Concerts don’t
just pay the talent. They pay the stage hands, the venue, etc. The money
concerts bring in supports the hotels, restaurants, etc. There is a ton of
businesses that receive extra money because of these events. It’s not just the
musicians that are affected by this. The fact that Metallica took on this role
saved hundreds if not thousands of jobs all over the world. You already have
access to free music…it’s called the radio!

Art, there are galleries, online galleries, etc. where it is
Free to go look. But don’t copy it, don’t print it out for your wall, don’t use
it yourself. Also, don’t claim you did it. In music and art, you can “copy” to
practice, but don’t put out that it’s yours. In Music, it’s called a cover, and
in art, it’s called a study. There are more rules and it is your job to find
out those rules if you want to use them. I have a study of Chagall. I went to
the extreme of signing it, “Study of Chagall” then my name and year so there is
no question of my intent.

The materials needed for both art and music is astronomical.
Don’t believe me? Go price equipment. Not cheap as dirt, won’t be worth the
space equipment, but that needed for good art and good music. Even middle of
the line isn’t cheap. Hell, dirt cheap isn’t cheap. Then there’s the
electricity, the practice venue, the studios, the other stuff people don’t think
about, ie printing costs, mediums, replacing brushes, website costs, seller
fees, etc.

Same goes for books. There’s this thing called a library,
and since you don’t have to pay to get a card… yes, it’s free. And, in this day
and age, the pirating of books is happening digitally. One, if you can afford
an ereader, then shell out the 5-15 bucks for a book, or don’t read it, or go
to the library. Two, there are hundreds of contests going on every day on FB,
Twitter, Goodreads, and even publishing sites sometimes have them where they
are giving out free books. If circumstances have changed, or the ereader was a
gift, then spend a little of your time going after the legitimately free stuff.
Or “buy” the free books offered on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I have been poor. Homeless, not enough food, poor. I’m here
to tell you there is NO excuse.

Still think this is a victimless crime? Think again. I’ve
gone on many blogs trying to show how even the loss of ten dollars can affect a
family. I have no thyroid, and for a while, my monthly meds were ten bucks.
They’ve gone up, but yeah. I have been so poor that I had to choose between
spending ten bucks on meds and buying my kids milk and cereal that would have
to work for breakfast and dinner for the weekends. So, don’t give me the I’m
poor excuse. It isn’t one. I didn’t go stealing your stuff, burning down your
house, making you ill, or any other issue because I was poor, so don’t go stealing
my books and keeping me from being able to eat under the excuse that you’re poor.
By the way, it’s one of the worst excuses in the world for bad behavior.
Anyway, here’s my FB post yesterday. It is highly emotional. Probably should have
censored it a bit, but I’d also had my wallet and some car parts stolen over
the weekend, so my tact meter was broken about the issue of thievery.

As many of you know, pirating of art, from books to
paintings, to anything else, pisses me off. Well, today was supposed to be a
rerelease of book that has been out of print for around 9 months. The pirate
sites have them up still, so Amazon is refusing to publish. I was supposed to
re-release it today. Instead, I'm wasting time fighting pirates. If I had an
actual sword, might be worth the LITERAL DOLLARS AND CENTS I'M LOSING RIGHT
NOW. PLEASE IF YOU'VE NEVER BELIEVED ME BEFORE, PIRATES LITERALLY COST THE
AUTHOR MONEY. I DON'T CARE WHAT SOME AUTHORS SAY. IF YOU WANT A FREE BOOK, GO
TO THE LIBRARY OR SIGN UP FOR THE HUNDREDS OF FREE BOOKS GIVEN AWAY EVERY DAY.
OR JUST 'BUY' THE FREE ONES ON AMAZON.

My pre-release and release being put off can also affect
other authors as it puts us closer together. At a time where I'm looking to
grow fast and furious in all avenues of my life, the loss of money through
ANOTHER FUCKING THIEF after the loss of my wallet, etc. and that headache, it
makes me want to set them all up in a firing squad. BUT THEY WOULDN'T DO IT IF
PEOPLE WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD THEM. SERIOUSLY. I know people who pay 6-8 bucks for a
damn cup of coffee, but won't pay five for a book they can reread. Just...

If you are HONEST TO GOD POOR, and in case you're wondering,
if you get your hair and nails done, that's not poor, that's whining, for
example, then talk to a favorite author. I need so much marketing help etc.,
and would probably trade work for a copy of my books! A lot of authors are
willing. ON top of the contests and giveaways and libraries carrying them,
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR DOWNLOADING PIRATED BOOKS OTHER THAN YOU WANT TO BE A
THIEF AND/OR SUPPORT A THIEF. IT IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME. My family IS
DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THIS.

You want it in the vernacular? I will get paid for these
sales right before school starts. So this directly plays into whether or not I
will be able to buy my kids clothes, pay the fines, the tech stuff, sports
stuffs, and all the other crap of having a special ed kid going to first,
another going into middle school for first time and needing freaking uniforms,
and one going into high school for the first time and needing god knows what
else besides the normal pens and clothes. IT MATTERS.

AND NO, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE RANT. THIS ALSO WILL PUT
OF THE PRINT RELEASE OF BOTH THE MIDWIFE'S MOON AND THE ULFRIC'S MATE AS IT IS
A MATTER OF TIMING. SCREW ALL PIRATES AND THEIR SUPPORTERS. YOU CHEAT MY
FAMILY, MY CHILDREN AND I HAVE NO LOVE FOR YOU.

As you can see, this directly affects my bottom line in a
way that’s very personal. I did what you must all be prepared to do. I sent out
the DMCA notices, my publisher is assuring Amazon that she has the rights to my
book, and that I am the author, yada yada. But it’s costing time and money that
would be better spent being creative or resting for the next bout of
creativity, or playing with my kids. That's not to say it's okay to do it to someone who's rich. The authors and publishers are still paying others (editors, managers, etc all get paid from this work) from the money made on each sell. And don't forget, the big bad boogie man Amazon takes about a 70% cut on anything under 2.99US. So, that makes it even harder for everyone to get paid. But Amazon, Barnes and Noble, they all deserve their cut for providing space (yes, even online space) for readers to buy the work, and they, of course, take it. The money you pay doesn't go straight into the authors' pockets. Hell, it doesn't even go straight into the publishers' pockets. It first goes into the third parties pockets, to then be distributed. (Why I will never be on Amazon's side when they try their BS with big pubs and make it look as if they are doing it for poor little you. They're not. They want control over it and hope to bring people to their own publishing company. Don't be fooled. You getting anything cheaper is a by product, not the end game, and would change if places like Books a Million, Barns and Noble, ARe ever went out of business. Though they are domiciled in my home state, they are not the underdog. But that is a post for another day LOL)

But, it is a cost of doing business nowadays. You have to fight
them. If we authors all flooded the FBI with these sites and complaints, they’d
be shut down faster. You have to not ignore it. There are programs out there
that will do it for you (which I suggest if you can at all afford it. I hate
the business end of writing. I want to create. So I get that lol). However you
choose to deal with it, whether hiring someone, buying a program, or doing it
individually, you must deal with it. I’ve sent out multiple forms. I hate it
with a passion. But it must be done.

Your creativity is your money maker. You cannot let anyone
destroy it. Not by piracy, not by drama, not by criticism. You must hone it,
learn to make it stronger, and protect it. You can do this.

After all, it’s your book, your business.

For the readers out there. Please, if you are not paying for
a book on a site when Amazon is charging, it’s likely pirated. It’s not a lucky
break or a deal. They are stealing. Don’t support them, don’t use them, etc.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Hello World!No really. This isn’t the rote WordPress
hello, it’s me, author KD Rose saying “Hi.”I’ve been absent awhile due to illness and now I’m back. I’m here, maybe
not running with the bulls but at least hobbling with the um, well, chronically
pretty darn god-awful ill.But enough
about that. I’m all about keeping it positive (except when I’m not). But see-
things are looking up! Literally. This is a view from my yard so life can’t be
all bad.

Add to that a wonderful husband,
family, and even a wonderful publisher and I have a reason to dig out the old
keyboard again. Ok, it was actually replace the new wireless keyboard which
didn’t work worth squat with the old wired up keyboard that still works just fine,
but that’s technical life for a plebian.

I’m posting on this date to mention
that despite everything I have a new book coming out on May 21st, 2015- exactly
one short week from now. Titled The Brevity of Twit, this humorous book is
everything I used to be. Using the Twitter forum as a scroll, The Brevity of
Twit yields humor, insight, and poetic vigor in a light read that will both
lift your spirits and make you ponder. So take a gander. My publisher decided
to publish it despite the absence of the entire being of the author (me). What
more can an author ask for? The book will be on Amazon and other neat sites.
I’ll post the links once the book is live.

In the meantime I’m going to
un-pause and reinvigorate. It’s been awhile since I’ve sipped the creative
nectar and I’m sure it will be as sweet, tangy, and ironic as I remember.

Blurb:

Humor in 140 characters or less.

A witty walk through the minefield
of tweeting, twitter, and the many uses we have socially for it. From serious
poetry to a scandalous take on improper grammar, this fast paced take on the
brevity of chatting in 140 characters or less will have you falling in love
with tweeting all over again.

Trending is when thousands of people
across a state, country, countries, or continents, (depending on your settings)
all decide to tweet about the same topic. This usually involves hashtags, a
topic listed under "Trending," and many, many people looking for
their moment in the spotlight. Generally, trends are about something happening
on social media, the news, movies, music, or taking place in the world at the
moment. New releases, and celebrities often dominate. Celebrity deaths and
death hoaxes also make their appearance. For example, as I write, #royalbaby is
trending because that news was just announced and 3— not 1, not 2, but 3
trending subjects are about 1Direction. There is also a #HappyBDayCamCam trending
about someone named Cameron Dallas who has 3.4 Million Twitter followers, and I
don't know who he is because, well, I'm old.

Not that these aren't THE MOST
IMPORTANT THINGS EVER, but occasionally, just occasionally something will trend
that is interesting to writers, or nerds, or writer-nerds like me. Sometimes
these are more local trending subjects, but occasionally even God arises and
says- "I am TIRED of Chris Brown, and Margaret Atwood is not tweeting
today— Let the Higgs-Boson Particle be found!" Then suddenly science nerds
and writer nerds and wordplay nerds form a bond. Higgs-Boson trends, writers
have a field day, scientists nash their teeth at all the incorrect explanations
going around, thunder claps, rivers overflow, and for a brief moment, even
science makes twitter news.

Higgs-Boson Tweets:

•Higgs Boson- "The Force is
strong with that one."#laymangeekbutIcanthelpit

•Ok Kids: Higgs, Top Quark, Ultra
High Energy Ray, TOE. In that order. I'll be waiting for a report at dinner.
Higgs Boson

•Wow- articles are now out saying US
sees stronger hints of Higgs. Way to grab the spotlight for a dead collider.
CERN is EU. Higgs Boson

•True- the US found hints of Higgs
Boson too, but wasnt up to more so it was kind of expected from CERN. Atom
Smasher suffers collider envy.

•They might have found Higgs Boson.
They might have not. Schrodinger is happy.

•Oh my- Higgs is now trending
without Boson. Seriously!

•People who can make Higgs Boson
jokes return my faith in humanity.

•Higgs Boson? How quaint. Where's
the (S)top Quark? What- did I just suck all the air out of CERN? Oh no wait
that's another experiment.

•Higgs Boson Why Science Works:
There is no religion around supersymmetry.

Author Bio:

K.D. Rose is an author and poet.
With fellow authors around the globe, KD was also a founding member of the
e-magazine, INNOVATE. K.D.'s book, "Inside Sorrow" won the Readers
Favorite 2013 international Silver Medal for Poetry.

K.D. has an eclectic mind and loves
language, physics, philosophy, photography, design, art of all kinds, writing
of all kinds, symbolism, semiotics, spirituality, and Dr. Who.

K.D. Rose values the question more
than the answer and loves creativity and innovation.

KD Rose is an avid supporter of
music, the arts, cutting edge science, technology, and creativity in all forms
that encourage us to expand and explore past the artificial limits we often set
for ourselves in order to see the everyday connections that exist among all
things.

She also currently has "Heavy
Bags of Soul", "Inside Sorrow", and "I AM" - on sale
at Amazon and other retailers.

Friday, May 15, 2015

This went out on my other blogs yesterday, but as my laptop and FB decided to screw with me, this gets to go up today for her as well :D Just spreads all the love around.

Please welcome Jessica Bayliss with her debut short with Three Worlds Press. The first in the Sea Mist series.

1)Share with our readers a little about your book.
(Remember to make it so they want to read more LOL)

“Breathless” is a romantic ghost about a young woman, Leah,
who is traveling alone in the British Virgin Islands. The action begins during
a scuba dive at a sunken wreck, supposedly haunted, when Leah discovers her
oxygen tank is empty. This story is inspired a little bit from my own
experience. I actually ran out of air during a dive about two years ago.
Obviously, I survived. But, I’ll tell you, it was pretty darned freaky. In
Leah’s case, she turns to one of the dive instructors, Dale, an Operation
Enduring Freedom veteran, to get her back to the surface safely. The shared
exhilaration of their experience forges a connection between these two. I bet
you can see where this is going …

As the tour group moves from the boat to the beach for an
overnight campout, Dale and Leah are drawn to each other. They discover they’re
each searching for ghosts, but for very different reasons. Throw in a moonlight
hike, a salt pond, a bonfire …

I love a little supernatural with my romance, so I set out
to give readers a contemporary, real-world story, with paranormal flair.

It’s up to you to decide if Leah’s and Dale’s ghosts are
real.

2)Tell us about yourself and what brought you to writing?

I have a career that is very different from writing, but
writing is something I’ve done since I was a kid, although not seriously until
2010. I tried to write my first book in high school, and even got a bunch of
chapters done. I have it somewhere in my house. I should dig it out and see how
awful it was. I started another one right around the time I began grad school,
which took over my life, and I totally forgot about the book. Years later, I
got the writing bug back. I found the book I started in grad school, threw out
almost all of it, and then finished it a year later. I’ll confess: it was not good, but it was one of the best
moments of my life. I wrote my second book the next year while rewriting the
first—a task that took three years, and I’m sure an editor would still give me
plenty to do on it. Now, I’ve written four novels and a whole slew of short
stories, one of which is “Breathless.” In the last five years, I’ve grown so
much as a writer, largely from meeting other writers and from practice. I must state: the network I’ve built—these
people are incredible. I could never do this without them. We’re there for each
other every single day.

3. Do you
believe in Bigfoot?

Absolutely not. But we’re Bigfoot fans in our house. My husband,
Eric, bought us our very own garden Yeti, complete with a sign, warning everyone
to beware. Eric’s Bigfoot impersonation is superb, by the way. Despite my
skepticism, one of my future projects will contain a Yeti. My second book is
called “Therapist of the Damned,” and it’s about a psychologist who discovers
her patients are vampires and all manner of supernatural creatures. I love this
concept, although I’m well aware that vampires are a tough sell these days; if
I’m never able to get it published, I’ll probably continue to develop the
stories, because they’re pure fun. So, one night, over dinner, Eric and I were
brainstorming characters for my book. He suggests I add a Yeti to my series,
and I’m like, no way. Then, I realize
the brilliance of his idea. A yeti in treatment for social phobia! Too perfect.
My main character will definitely need a larger couch.

Now, ready for the cover and blurb? Here you go!

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. These shorts are so much fun. I can't wait for everyone else to read them.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

We’ve been doing this series of business things, mostly on
contract details that are often overlooked. Now, I’d like to talk to you about
the author community. (Since my assistant reminded me to blog! Flu is running through my family in a very strange manner! I'm exhausted, so bear with me, and hopefully, you'll understand what I'm saying.)

Your author friends can be some of the best friends you’ll ever
find. However, sometimes, there is a snake in the grass. He/she may be seen as
someone grand, but, if you do research, you may find a lot of things wrong with
what they’ve told you. Others, who don’t want to see or who drink the koolaid
won’t see it until it’s too late. Sometimes, even then, they can’t see it.

So what do you do when you have two opposing sides? Mostly,
I recommend staying out of it. The community is a large one. However, there are
times, when you must pick a side for your own conscience. Even then, I’d go
with class. Be forthright in your opinions. Share sites that you found your information
on, copies of legalities, screen shots, etc. as needed, but try to keep your
opinion professional, regardless of how angry you are at the time.

How many times did we see backlash for authors rioting with
readers? Or, let’s take it to the TV Realm for a bit. Who has seen Chef Ramsay’s
Kitchen Nightmares (trademarks, etc. I’m not claiming any affiliation for or to
them. This is used in fair use policy as an icon to deliver a point.)? The one
with the ABC Baking Company? The people who went absolutely beserk on national
social media? Even international? Just for the record, I want to be famous, but
not in that way!

If you push people far enough, claim contracts say this when
legally, they don’t say any such thing, you’re going to start looking like
that. And while you may have your Sammy in your corner, well… think of how he
comes off? Brute, bullish, and not very nice. He’s been eating’ Amy’s sauce too
long…ie, drinking her Koolaid ;)

I have said things I regret. We all do. But, when it’s in
the community, be extra careful. One, you don’t know who’s going to say what where,
or, if you give an opinion in confidence, who that person may tell, or who will
choose a person in another country over a longstanding friendship with you to
be that spy or to give away your confidence. You don’t know who will turn down
a friendship as close as sisters for a business or a person not worthy of the
trust or loss of friends. You don’t know when it will come back to bite you in
the a$$. You just don’t know.

While you don’t have to be a sheep and bleat all the latest
fads, neither can you burn your bridges with bad manners and back stabbing
because you never know when you will need that bridge to cross to a new level,
and instead, are stuck. If you’re lucky, the material will still be there to
build the bridge. But, if you wait too long, the materials will rot away into
the landscape, or be swept away in an ocean of moving on with people who aren’t
stuck on stupid or back stabbing you when you’re not looking.

In your social media contacts, marketing, ads, etc., be
someone you can be proud of. Be someone whom the readers are going to flock to.
Don’t become angry and sullen and hateful because you’re upset about something.
Remember, the authors/readers/publishers will hear about it at some point, and
you need to be able to honestly say you weren’t the one who started stuff, but
you’ll finish it.

Er, I mean, don’t take stuff lying down, but don’t make a public
debacle that will make the readers turn from you. Even if you’re right. Find
the middle ground of sticking up for yourself, but not letting drama queens make
you look bad for their bad behaviour and having their cronies come in and
attack you too. Just, stand the high ground. Like Obe Wan in Star Wars. You’ll
win on the high ground. You may lose friends you cared about more than
yourself, but at least you didn’t compromise your moral standards and droop to
their level of defending what they have no clue of which they speak, or of a
free for all name calling douchebaggery.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

It’s Tuesday and my assistant tells me I’m to write about
writing. *hangs head* I forgot to do my art one yesterday, so writing this early
and getting it ready on time. We started talking about reading your contract.
Remember, don’t get suckered into paying for something that’s already yours, or
signing away rights that are yours.

Continuing on in the same vein, I had a situation. As many
know, I’ve had a lot of health issues over the last five years. I still found
time to write. I had a couple of contracts finally come about the same time
from a publisher I’d already signed with before. I didn’t read it because I was
so sick. In order to feel more business like, I signed it sooner rather than
read it. Ironic, eh? I even told him, I’m too sick to read and comprehend, but
I trust you. I’m sure it’s the same as before. He never disabused me of that
notion when I very much needed to be told it wasn’t the same. However, it is on
my own head I didn’t wait until I felt well enough to read it, or at least take
enough meds for short term comprehension, at least.

And, it taught me something. Even people you think you can
trust may not have your back when it comes to business. I have also learned,
that some people will choose business over friendships, but that’s a mountain to climb
another day.

In the meantime, let’s go over having multiple contracts
from the same publisher. Check it side by side. See if there are any
difference, like having early release payments added that weren’t there before—a
per month, when before, if your book was selling for, er, wasn’t selling, you
could pull it and re-release it elsewhere, or self publish it. Of course, these
options would be after you’ve rewritten/edited it more and added/took out bits
that may have needed adjusting. But, if you all of sudden have a per month fee,
and no, I don’t think you should always be able to get out easy, but if it’s a
change, see why not.

Or, if you had recourse if your publisher wasn’t doing their
end, like not doing their end of the job, or not keeping to things they
promised. I mean, as an author, you need to realize stuff can go wrong, but if
someone says April, then, with no warning, changes it to August even though you’ve
had it turned in for months, well, you should have the option to get out. Or,
if they put it out, and it doesn’t sell more than 4 copies in 6 months, then
again, you should have the option to pull. Not every book is going to be a best
seller, but every book should sell something, if only to family and friends.
Also, you can ask for changes like that. Say, if I don’t sell 100 in the first
year, I want my rights back. If you’re last four books sold a thousand copies
in three months, then perhaps say 500 in a year. Something. You have right to
expect some sales and promotion. You also have the responsibility to promote
and try to sale as much as possible. Take marketing classes, read blogs, etc.
Anything to learn the best ways that work for you.

If there are changes, open up dialogue between yourself and
the publisher. And have a friend, or best yet, an attorney look at it. Now,
most of us authors don’t have the funds to have an attorney on hand, but there
are many who aren’t as expensive as you may imagine. Also, there are literally
hundreds of blogs written that legally explain your rights about clauses.
Educate yourself, but educate yourself even more so if you can’t afford help.

As I’ve said and will continue to say, you don’t have to
know how to do everything. However, if you’re not comfortable doing it, then
you need to hire someone who can do it for you and help you out with whichever
area you need the most help with, and reading a contract is no different. Don’t
worry about feeling embarrassed you don’t understand all the clauses.

Read. Your. Contract.

What all are your responsibilities? Are they something you
can live with? Sometimes, the publisher acts as if you are the only one
responsible for everything, yet won’t help out, won’t give leads, doesn’t
provide a place for support and questions. Other times, they do something when
it’s first out, then nothing. Some fall in between. What are you comfortable
with? Work with your publisher, and you’ll have the best experience. But don’t
let them make you do work that they then don’t use. I had a publisher for whom
I was required to write a specific number of blogs for, a specific kind of blog
post for a specific site, and it never got used. Happened more than once to a
lot of us. That just wastes everyone’s time.

Ask around. Who’s used them, what have they done for the
authors? If they’re less than 2 years, you’re just going to have to take your
best guess and decide if you want to give them a chance. That can be a great
thing. New businesses have a lot to prove and may work harder for you.

But above all, the publishing arena is a business, just like
your book rights, so read your contract. Publishers want to make it as much as
authors do. When things work together, author and publisher can have a long,
happy career with each other.

I, for one, never want to have to work any day job that’s
not related to the arts. I don’t mean for Michael’s, or other supplier. *grins*
If you’re happy with your contract, sign up and do everything you can to make
your book the best it can be.